Heal rift, Asia tells Bush

2004-11-04 08:33

Hong Kong - Asian newspapers greeted US President George W Bush's re-election on Thursday with calls for Washington to overhaul its foreign policy in order to restore the superpower's standing in the region.

The unilateralist tendencies of the Bush administration's first four years could not be repeated if Iraq was to be successfully rebuilt and peace brought to the Middle East, several newspapers said.

Japan's liberal Asahi Shimbun said Bush "should aim to restore a respected United States instead of a hated United States by changing his policy towards Iraq and the Middle East".

On Iraq, it warned that if Bush "continues to give international co-operation only secondary importance and rely on its military might to suppress anti-US forces, the chances of stability and reconstruction will be reduced."

The Tokyo Shimbun appealed to Bush's humility, reminding him that there was still "persistent opposition" to his security policy: "We want him to respect the criticism humbly," it said.

Similar sentiments were echoed by newspapers in South Korea, another key regional US ally.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post meanwhile labelled Bush's win a "victory for divisiveness".

"Great challenges lie ahead. But they will be confronted by a nation that is at odds with itself," said the Post. "History will judge the price his country will have to pay for this most divisive of victories."

Other newspapers focused on Iraq and what they felt was the underlying cause of Islamic terrorism: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Bangkok Post, expressing a pessimism common among Thai papers, called for Middle East pragmatism.

"... it is time Bush re-engaged American diplomacy in the most important issue behind terrorism: the Israel-Palestine dispute," it said.

Malaysia's Berita Harian accused American voters of having "deafened their ears and blinded their eyes from the screams of babies and children who died in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine as a result of Bush's actions".

The newspaper warned that other Muslim nations could be next in Bush's crosshairs and that Israel will continue its "aggressive policies" with impunity with Bush's backing.

But positive reactions came mainly from papers in India and state-run dailies in China.

Apart from splashing banner headlines such as "Bush is back" and "By George, no need to Kerry favour", Indian papers were heartened by the prospects of continued warming ties but queried the US's electoral process.

Meanwhile, Zhang Guoqing, an expert on US issues at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, wrote in the Beijing News: "Bush's relatively clear policy towards China will help maintain the good momentum of Sino-US relations."

The Beijing Youth Daily said it had seen a more mature Bush emerge. "Today's Bush is no longer the ignorant, arrogant Western cowboy of the past," it said.

- AFP